Apparatus for the installation of carpet

ABSTRACT

A device for installing carpet or other similar flooring material includes a base which is attached or mounted to a floor or other surface on which carpet is to be laid. The base incorporates a number of gripping members that are formed from the base and provide a secure manner in which carpet is held in place by the installation device. The device may be configured to accommodate a wide range of carpet textures and thicknesses, as well as the use of carpet padding.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/794,480, filed Apr. 24, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Wall-to-wall carpeting is typically installed by stretching the carpetto a suitable tightness, securing the carpet at the floor-wallintersections or joints by way of a carpet tack strip, and then trimmingthe carpet to the floor dimensions. The tack strips are commonly thin,narrow, wooden boards through which tacks or small nails for securingthe carpet are driven. The strip is attached (usually by nailing) to thefloor around the perimeter of the room with the points of the carpetsecuring tacks or nails facing up. The stretched carpet is then forceddownward over these tacks or nails so that the carpet is thereby grippedand held in place. These carpet tack strips suffer from a loss offunctionality when the floor surface does not accommodate ordinary nailsfor attachment of the strips to the floor (e.g., concrete), or when theselected carpet is of a thickness and/or texture that is not optimum forthe size of the holding tacks or nails of the tack strip. Thisdisclosure describes a carpet installation strip that addresses thepreviously described shortcomings.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a carpet installationdevice incorporates a base from which carpet grippers are formed. Theinstallation device is configurable with respect to the dimensions andorientation of the grippers so as to accommodate carpet or similarflooring material in a secure fashion. The installation device alsoincorporates indicia that aids in the mounting of the installationdevice to the surface over which carpet is to be laid.

Further objects, embodiments, forms, benefits, aspects, features andadvantages of the present disclosure may be obtained from thedescription, drawings, and claims provided herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carpet installation device inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carpet installation device shown inFIG. 1, illustrating a portion of such device in greater detail.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of a carpetinstallation environment illustrating the use of the carpet installationdevice shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a carpet installation device inaccordance with an aspect of the disclosure, illustrating an alternatedesign.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a carpet installation device 10having a base 12 from which a number of gripping members 14 are formed.Gripping members 14 are illustratively shown as being partially punchedor stamped from base 12. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, arepresentative gripping member 14 is illustratively shown as beingtriangular in shape, with sides 16 and 18 of the triangular grippingmember 14 being punched or stamped through base 12. The remaining side20 of gripping member 14 is not punched, cut, or stamped through base12, but instead provides a bending edge for gripping member 14. Edge 20may be scored or slightly dented, if desired, to aid in bending grippingmember 14 along edge 20. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, grippingmembers 14 are shown as being bent back from base 12, such that the tipor point 22 of gripping members 14 are raised from base 12. FIG. 1illustratively shows the openings 24 that are left in base 12 whengripping members 14 are raised or bent from base 12.

Also shown in FIG. 1 are attachment indicia or indicators 26 which showrecommended locations for attaching device 10 to a floor or surface tobe carpeted. The method of attaching device 10 is typically by drivingnails through base 12 at the location of indicators 26, but may be byother attachment mechanisms, such as screws or staples. Indicators 26may be merely printed or marked on base 12 of device 10, but they mayalso incorporate an indention or scoring, or be completely cut throughbase 12 to facilitate easier nailing or attaching of device 10 to afloor or other surface. Indicators 26 are illustratively spaced toprovide a sufficiently secure attachment of device 10 to the surface onwhich device 10 is to be mounted.

FIG. 3 shows a side cross-sectional view of carpet installation device10 illustratively in place on a floor 28 via nails 30 driven throughbase 12 at attachment indicators 26. Device 10 is illustratively shownas being butted or positioned flush against a wall 32. The outer edge ofbase 12, or the edge that is proximal to wall 32, forms the perimeter ofthe area to be carpeted. As can be seen in FIG. 3, a representativepiece of carpeting 34 having a base or binding 36 and pile 38 is shownas being securely held in place by gripping members 14 of device 10extending through binding 36. Gripping members 14 are shown as havingtheir tips or points 22 facing away from the direction, indicated byarrow 40, that carpet 34 would tend to pull or relax. In this way,gripping members 14 act in the nature of a fishhook barb. Thisarrangement would be particularly effective, for example, in mountingcarpet or other flexible flooring material on a wall or verticalsurface. FIG. 3 shows only one illustrative example of carpetinstallation device 10, and it is of course possible to modify orenhance the features and characteristics of device 10 as needed and/ordesired. As a few non-limiting examples, gripping members 14 may be madeto be larger or smaller (or variable sizes in the same device 10) toaccommodate carpets of different types, thicknesses or textures. Thecontour of the point or tip 22, and edges 16 and 18 of gripping members14 may be varied, e.g., from sharp to somewhat rounded, as may berequired by the nature and composition of the carpet or other flooringmaterial to be installed. The angle at which gripping members 14 arebent from base 12 may also be varied as may be needed to mosteffectively secure the selected carpet or flooring material.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a carpet installation device 42having a base member 44, an orthogonal attachment or mounting member 46,and an elevation member 48. Gripping members 50 extend from base 44 inthe same manner as gripping members 14 extend or are bent from base 12.Attachment indicators 52, which may be similar in construction andappearance to indicators 26, are located in, or printed on, mountingmember 46. Mounting member 46 provides a means for attaching device 42to a wall or similar surface that is disposed at an angle (e.g., 90°)from the floor or surface to which carpet is to be installed. Device 42having mounting member 46 is particularly useful when installingcarpeting or other similar flooring material over a cement or otherhard-surface floor, where nails or other fasteners would be difficult todrive into place, and where the adjoining wall surface is moreacceptable to the placement of nails or other fasteners. Elevationmember 48 may be incorporated into the design of device 42, if desiredor needed, in order to raise the level of base 44 (and hence grippingmembers 50) a distance from the floor or carpet mounting surface toaccommodate the thickness of carpet padding, for example. As anillustrative example, base 44 may be of the order of 1 inch wide,mounting member 46 is of the order of ½ inches high, and elevationmember 48 is of the order of ¼ inches high. Attachment indicators 52 areillustratively shown as incorporating ⅛ inch holes and are spaced 3½inches apart. Gripping members 50 are illustratively made to beapproximately 3/16 inches long and ⅛ inches wide at their base. They areillustratively shown as being bent back from base 44 approximately60°-70° and spaced approximately ¾ inches from center-to-center alongany given row. The rows of gripping members 50 are staggered and spacedapproximately 3/16 inches center-to-center between rows. Any number ofrows of gripping members 50 may be incorporated into device 42 asdesired or needed.

Carpet installation devices 10 and 42 may be made of thin metal, such asaluminum or steel, for example, flexible plastic, or other suitablematerial that provides the strength and flexibility needed to functionas previously described, particularly with respect to the deployment andmaintenance of gripping devices 14 and 50. Devices 10 and 42 may also bemanufactured in a variety of lengths, and with a variety of widthdimensions of bases 12 and 44, mounting member 46 and elevation member48. Other variations in materials and dimensions may also be made aswould be apparent to one skilled in the art.

While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiments have been shown and described and thatall changes, modifications and equivalents that come within the spiritof the disclosure provided herein are desired to be protected. Thearticles “a”, “an”, “said” and “the” are not limited to a singularelement, and may include one or more such elements.

1. An apparatus for use in the installation of carpet comprising: anelongated base member incorporating a plurality of gripping members,said gripping members formed, and extending, from said base member at anacute angle from the surface of said base member.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said base member comprises a thin metal strip.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein said strip comprises aluminum.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein said strip comprises steel.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said base member comprises a thin plasticstrip.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said gripping members have atriangular shape.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein one vertex ofsaid triangular shape is disposed above the surface of said base member.8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mounting memberdisposed orthogonal to said base member and extending above the surfaceof said base member.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising anelevation member disposed orthogonal to said base member and extendingbelow the surface of said base member.
 10. An installation device forflexible flooring material comprising: an elongated base member having aproximal edge and a distal edge, said proximal edge forming theperimeter of said area in which said flooring material is to beinstalled, said base member incorporating a plurality of grippingmembers formed from said base member, said gripping members having atriangular shape with two sides of said triangular shape being separatedfrom said base member and disposed toward said proximal edge, saidtriangular shape being bent along said third side such that saidtriangular shape extents above the surface of said base member at anacute angle.